Best "Rock/Pop" Debut Album?

THE BEATLES – ‘With the Beatles’ (Meet the Beatles in the US) – perhaps I’m dating myself a bit, but the impact of this LP on the entire world was, and is, unprecedented in the world of popular music. Is it their best work? Hardly (in my opinion Rubber Soul better defines the beginning of their true brilliance), but what a debut!

THE BYRDS – ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’

THE DOORS – ‘The Doors’

THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE – ‘Are You Experienced’ – I remember when this first hit the record stores, looking at the cover and thinking anyone that looks like this has got to be good. I was only 15 at the time and to say I was blown away when I got to hear it the first time at my best friend’s house is an understatement. That same year I got to see him live on the first US tour.

THE WHO – ‘My Generation’ – while it is true that The Who didn’t really start becoming popular until ‘Tommy’ came out I thought they were great from the very beginning and loved their music. Then again I was very much into the music scene, particularly the so called British Invasion. Also saw The Who’s first US tour. They opened for Herman’s Hermits!

CREAM – ‘Fresh Cream’ – although ‘Disraeli Gears’ and ‘Wheels of Fire’ are my favorites, ‘Fresh Cream’ was a brilliant debut of what became known as the world’s first super group.

JEFF BECK – ‘Truth’ – arguably the greatest rock guitarist, if not the most successful

JEFFERSON AIRPLANE – ‘Surrealistic Pillow’ – technically this is their second LP, the first being ‘Jefferson Airplane Takes Off,’ but the original singer and drummer were replaced by Grace Slick and Spencer Dryden. With ‘Surrealistic Pillow’ Jefferson Airplane really did take off becoming one of the most successful San Francisco bands of the late 60’s.

BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD – hard to forget these guys! Third LP ‘Retrospective’ covers all their great songs and was one of my favorite LPs in 1969

CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY – first and only release as CTA

CROSBY, STILLS & NASH

SANTANA

IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY – a masterpiece from David and Linda Laflamme whose original group was short lived, but never the less a classic from the late 60’s. They are still performing today.

LED ZEPPELIN – not only a great debut, but to many their best overall

ELTON JOHN – I’m surprised no one else has mentioned this one. A fabulous debut!

GEORGE HARRISON – ‘All Things Must Pass’ – in my opinion the best post Beatles solo effort - in all likelihood because he was overshadowed by John and Paul’s brilliance his own song writing talents didn’t come out until after the Beatles broke up.

KING CRIMSON – ‘In the Court of the Crimson King’

EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER – I’m surprised this LP has never been remastered. No one ever surpassed Keith Emerson’s abilities with the all analog Moog synthesizer. An amazing performer to watch.

YES – I’m going to have to disagree with Jdlepera’s assertion that this LP ‘sucked big time.’ This has always been one of my favorite Yes LP’s and I feel it is a tremendous debut. Their earliest work is in my opinion their best and I’m in complete agreement about ‘Fragile’ in the history of popular music. I always thought their music went downhill from there on, but still enjoyed them.

THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND

THE EAGLES - ‘Eagles’ – a good debut for one of the 70’s best hybrid rock bands (country, bluegrass, rock). Their second LP ‘Desperado’ remains one of my favorites.

STEELY DAN – ‘Can’t Buy A Thrill’ – outstanding first effort of one of the most exceptionally musical bands. A lot of the above listed LPs don’t get a lot of play in my house anymore, but I never tire of these guys. Some of the best recordings of this era. I think they used to mix down on Magnapans.

RICKY LEE JONES – great music and a great recording.

BRAND X – ‘Unorthodox Behavior’

Well, that gets me through the 70’s and I’m sure I’ve missed some, but it’s late and my brain needs a rest.

Here are a few more I missed to add to my 60's/70's era list above:

THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION - 'Freak Out'

PINK FLOYD 'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'- I bought this when it first came out in 1967. According to Wikipedia "It is now viewed as one of the better debut albums by many critics." I always thought so even though I may have prefered listening to some of their later work.

JETHRO TULL - 'This Was' - still one of my favorite Tull LPs. Saw them perform on their first US tour right after 'Stand Up' came out with Joe Cocker and Jefferson Airplane. Their performance and especially their sound quality was the best I had seen at the time. I was sorry not to see Mick Abrahams perform, much less leave the band, but apparently there were some disagreements about musical direction and he went on to form his own band, Blodwyn Pig. His replacement, Martin Barre turned out to be just fine, however, and a driving force of the band's sound.

JONI MITCHELL - 'Joni Mitchell'- I can't believe no one has mentioned Joni. Then again I can't believe Sex Pistols are on this list...to each his own I guess.

THE MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA - 'The Inner Mounting Flame' - I wasn't going to mention this one since it moves more into the jazz realm, but since Metralla did I will too. Saw them in their first tour opening for Yes in Denver. I was pretty amazed and to this day am a huge fan of John McLaughlin.